The electric vehicle industry is still struggling to capture the dollars of consumers around the world. Pure electric vehicles still sell in very low numbers making them nothing but a niche market for most automakers. The sales of hybrid vehicles are doing better, but most consumers still choose traditional gasoline-only vehicles (at least in the U.S.).

Nissan announced this week that COO Toshiyuki Shiga would begin to oversee the company’s zero emission vehicle strategy and battery-powered vehicle businesses starting on April 1. Hideaki Watanabe, who was corporate vice president at the electric car division, previously ran the division.

Watanabe has been moved to supplier Calsonic Kansei Corp where he will act as senior vice president.

"Chief Operating Officer Shiga is taking direct responsibility of zero emission efforts because the business is Nissan's top priority which requires global and cross-functional efforts," Chris Keeffe, told The Detroit News in a phone interview.

Nissan has been struggling with sales of its pure electric Leaf for quite some time. The company announced in late 2012 that it would fall short of its goal of selling 20,000 units during the year. By the time November of 2012 rolled around, Nissan had only sold 6,791 Leaf electric vehicles for the entire year making 10,000 look like an impossible number for all of 2012.

Nissan is looking at many possibilities to help improve the popularity of its electric vehicle. One key move Nissan has made is to cut the base price of the Leaf by a bit over $6,000 to $28,800. Most of that price reduction is due to the fact that Nissan moved production of the Leaf from Japan to Tennessee for U.S. customers.

Let me give you my actual money numbers. I'm leasing one for $233/mo. Most of the time I charge at work (don't even bother to plug in at home). My old car was costing me on average about $200/mo in gasoline (not counting maintenance and repairs).

So I'm effectively driving around a new car for $33/mo not including my state tax benefits and free access to toll roads.

Go ahead and hate the tax/toll benefits, but they exist, so you might as well use them.

quote: Let me give you my actual money numbers. I'm leasing one for $233/mo. Most of the time I charge at work (don't even bother to plug in at home). My old car was costing me on average about $200/mo in gasoline (not counting maintenance and repairs).

Following this logic you may as well park your gas-powered car at work and siphon gas out of other peoples' tanks. That way you won't have to bother paying for gas at the pump.

quote: So I'm effectively driving around a new car for $33/mo not including my state tax benefits and free access to toll roads.

Your tax benefits are another person's liability.

So let's recount what you've stated so far:

- You are stealing electricity from your place of employment to avoid paying for it yourself.

- You are stealing from society to subsidize a highly impractical mode of transportation.

- You publicly admit to driving one of the ugliest cars currently in production.

quote: Go ahead and hate the tax/toll benefits, but they exist, so you might as well use them.

Great logic. Ignore the detrimental effect these handouts are having on our country and industry...as long as you can get your slice of the pie everyone else can go to hell.